Which to use
“mah” is an intj and “mau” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,420
- “mah” frequency rank
- #1,936
- “mau” frequency rank
- 31356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mah | mau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | usada para chamar ou deter alguém, ou para chamar sua atenção | que não é de boa qualidade, ruim |
Letter map: mah vs mau
Shared letters muted; letters that set mah and mau apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. mah (CVC) and mau (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Role in the sentence - mah and mau
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mah is anintj and mauanadjective. On the page they differ by a single letter - h in “mah” becomes u in “mau”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mah is recorded at frequency rank #29,420, classified as anintj. mau is at rank #1,936, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmaw/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 31356, this pair ranks #36,765 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mah vs mau
Shared letters: am. Private to "mah": h. Private to "mau": u.
"mah" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mah" for "mau" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mah" vs "mau" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "mah" and "mau". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "mah" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #36,765 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mah" and "mau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mah". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #36,765 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.